The contribution of the main proteolytic pathways to the degradation of long-lived proteins in human fibroblasts grown under different conditions was investigated. The effects of various commonly used pharmacological inhibitors of protein degradation were first analysed in detail. By choosing specific inhibitors of lysosomes and proteasomes, it was observed that together both pathways accounted for 80% or more of the degradation of cell proteins. With lysosomal inhibitors, it was found that serum withdrawal or amino-acid deprivation strongly stimulated macroautophagy but not other lysosomal pathways, whereas confluent conditions had no effect on macroautophagy and slightly activated other lysosomal pathways. Prolonged (24 h) serum starvation of confluent cultures strongly decreased the macroautophagic pathway, whereas the activity of other lysosomal pathways increased. These changes correlated with electron microscopic observations and morphometric measurements of lysosomes. With proteasomal inhibitors, it was found that, in exponentially growing cells in the absence of serum, activity of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway increases, whereas under confluent conditions the contribution (in percentage) of proteasomes to degradation decreases, especially in cells deprived of amino acids. Interestingly, in confluent cells, the levels of two components of the 19 S regulatory complex and those of an interchangeable beta-subunit decreased. This was associated with a marked increase in the levels of components of PA28-immunoproteasomes. Thus confluent conditions affect proteasomes in a way that resembles treatment with interferon-gamma. Altogether, these results show that the activity of the various proteolytic pathways depends on the growth conditions of cells and will be useful for investigation of the specific signals that control their activity.
Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory disease in which all joint-related elements, articular cartilage in particular, are affected. The poor regeneration capacity of this tissue together with the lack of pharmacological treatment has led to the development of regenerative medicine methodologies including microfracture and autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI). The effectiveness of ACI has been shown in vitro and in vivo, but the use of other cell types, including bone marrow and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, is necessary because of the poor proliferation rate of isolated articular chondrocytes. In this investigation, we assessed the chondrogenic ability of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) to regenerate cartilage in vitro and in vivo. hDPSCs and primary isolated rabbit chondrocytes were cultured in chondrogenic culture medium and found to express collagen II and aggrecan. Both cell types were cultured in 3% alginate hydrogels and implanted in a rabbit model of cartilage damage. Three months after surgery, significant cartilage regeneration was observed, particularly in the animals implanted with hDPSCs. Although the results presented here are preliminary, they suggest that hDPSCs may be useful for regeneration of articular cartilage.
Background/ObjectivePatients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) develop resistance to antitumor agents by mechanisms that involve the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This necessitates the development of new complementary drugs, e.g., cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) agonists including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). The combined use of THC and CBD confers greater benefits, as CBD enhances the effects of THC and reduces its psychotropic activity. We assessed the relationship between the expression levels of CB1 and CB2 to the clinical features of a cohort of patients with NSCLC, and the effect of THC and CBD (individually and in combination) on proliferation, EMT and migration in vitro in A549, H460 and H1792 lung cancer cell lines.
MethodsExpression levels of CB1, CB2, EGFR, CDH1, CDH2 and VIM were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. THC and CBD (10-100 μM), individually or in combination (1:1 ratio), were used for in vitro assays. Cell proliferation was determined by BrdU incorporation assay. Morphological changes in the cells were visualized by phase-contrast and fluorescence microscopy. Migration was studied by scratch recolonization induced by 20 ng/ml epidermal growth factor (EGF).
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